Cloud, Data, and AI: Key takeaways from the Embridge ERPx Community Day

Exploring the benefits of ERPx, the growing role of AI and why people remain at the heart of successful transformation.

On 14 October 2026, Embridge and Unit4 customers, product specialists, transformation leaders and industry peers came together at Millennium Point in Birmingham for the Embridge ERPx Community Day. With the theme Cloud, Data, AI and You, the event created space for honest customer stories, practical guidance and open discussion about what it takes to make ERP deliver lasting value.

Across the day, one message came through clearly: technology creates the opportunity, but people, purposeful change and a strong community turn it into measurable progress.

The future of ERPx: Less admin, more insight and greater flexibility

The day began with a look at the future of enterprise technology. Unit4's ERP and AI vision, is built around three key priorities: reducing administration, delivering better insights and providing the flexibility organisations need to adapt.

With organisations under increasing pressure to improve efficiency and make better use of their data, the focus is shifting beyond simply implementing modern technology towards delivering measurable business value.

The discussion highlighted how ERPx is evolving to support this ambition, with capabilities including AI-assisted invoice coding, expense capture, improved access to governed data and more connected ways of working.

The introduction of AI-powered assistance through tools such as Unit4's Ava also demonstrated how technology can help employees spend less time navigating systems and more time on activities that add value.

For organisations considering their next steps with ERPx, the message was clear: the business case should start with the work you want to improve, not simply the technology you want to implement.

Working with constant change: A new approach to transformation

As technology continues to evolve, so too does the pace of organisational change.

With employees navigating an increasing number of organisational changes, traditional approaches to transformation are being challenged. Organisations need to build the capability to adapt continuously, rather than treating change as a one-off project.

Embridge's approach to Elastic Change®, brings together three core principles:

• Expandable Services: Providing flexible support that evolves alongside organisational needs.
• Excellence in Technology: Using technology effectively to enable meaningful improvements.
• Emotionally Intelligent Leadership: Recognising that successful transformation depends on understanding, engaging and supporting people.

The session reinforced the importance of creating stronger connections between organisations facing similar challenges.

At Embridge, we believe transformation is more successful when organisations have access to trusted peers, shared knowledge and a community that supports them through change.

AI adoption: Moving beyond automation to real business value

Artificial intelligence was a major theme throughout the day, but the conversations went beyond the technology itself. Susan Standiford, Board Member and Advisor, delivered an insightful session on implementing AI within organisations, drawing on her experience working with start-ups, scale-ups and established businesses.

Susan introduced the three As of AI: Assistance, Automation and Agency, and explored the impact of AI through three business lenses: efficiency, opportunity and disruption.

One of the key messages was the importance of rethinking processes rather than simply automating existing ways of working. AI offers organisations opportunities to reduce friction, improve efficiency and introduce new capabilities. However, realising those benefits requires a clear understanding of business objectives, meaningful performance measures and a willingness to challenge established processes.

Susan also emphasised that, while AI can increasingly support decision-making and execution, accountability must remain with people.

For organisations exploring AI adoption, the takeaway was practical: start by understanding where value can be created, measure the impact and ensure people remain central to the process.

Customer story: The Alan Turing Institute’s ERPx journey

One of the day's customer-focused sessions came from The Alan Turing Institute, the UK's national institute for data science and artificial intelligence.

The team shared valuable lessons from navigating changes in project leadership, balancing time for testing and learning, and strengthening build documentation. Its experience highlighted how stable leadership, experienced resources, early planning, clear documentation and dedicated preparation time can build confidence and set teams up for a smoother go-live.

Today, the Institute is following a pragmatic path: stabilise now, automate next and innovate for the future. The focus is on improving data quality, strengthening training and support, clearing integration issues and building confidence before expanding automation, predictive analytics and Ava capabilities.

It also highlighted why sharing real experiences matters. Hearing directly from organisations navigating ERPx provides practical insight that goes beyond product demonstrations and theoretical best practice.

Getting more value from Unit4 Cloud

Whether an organisation is already live on ERPx, planning its move or seeking more from its existing Unit4 Cloud environment, the barriers are often similar: limited capacity, uncertainty about priorities, adoption gaps, legacy ways of working and a difficult business case.

Embridge introduced Evolve, a three-step approach designed to help customers choose the right improvements, deliver them effectively and support people to adopt the change. Its six improvement areas -integrations, insights, user adoption, support, smarter ways of working, and people and change provide a practical framework for creating value now while preparing for what comes next.

Evolve begins with a clear view of current performance and the opportunities that matter most. By considering business priorities, system performance, user experience and organisational readiness together, Embridge helps customers create a focused improvement roadmap rather than treating each issue as a standalone fix.

The service then supports practical improvements across six connected areas: integrations, insights, user adoption, support, smarter ways of working, and people and change. This brings technical delivery, operational improvement and adoption into one joined-up approach.

Crucially, Evolve does not stop when a technical change goes live. It keeps outcomes, adoption and continuous improvement in view, helping organisations build value in manageable stages and create stronger foundations for automation, AI and future innovation.

Change management is not an optional extra

Embridge’s change specialists reinforced that ERP success depends on how well people understand, adopt and sustain new ways of working. Visible sponsorship, stakeholder engagement, readiness checks, role-based learning and adoption monitoring should run alongside technical delivery not follow it.

Effective change management starts early and continues beyond go-live. It means understanding who is affected, how roles and processes will change, and what support different groups will need. A visible guiding coalition and a clear explanation of why the change matters can build momentum, while regular readiness checks help identify uncertainty or resistance before it becomes a barrier.

Training should be role-based, timely and reinforced through practice rather than treated as a single event. Change champions, feedback loops and accessible support give people somewhere to ask questions and build confidence. After launch, adoption measures and benefits tracking help leaders understand whether the new system is being used as intended and where further improvement is needed.

The power of community: Learning and growing together

While the presentations provided valuable insights, an equally important part of the day was the opportunity for customers to connect. Throughout the networking sessions, interactive discussions and Q&A, the event created space for organisations to exchange experiences, ask questions and explore shared challenges.

The Unit4 UK User Group also highlighted the value of a wider customer network, bringing together representatives from more than 100 member organisations through workshops, webinars and knowledge-sharing opportunities.

For Embridge, building a connected ERPx community is about more than hosting events. It's about creating an environment where customers can learn from one another, build confidence in their decisions and access the insight and support needed to navigate an ever-changing technology landscape.

Whether organisations are preparing for ERPx, optimising their existing environment or exploring the possibilities of AI, having a trusted community around them can make a meaningful difference.

For organisations learning about ERPx, hearing from those who have completed the journey, are navigating it now or are preparing to begin can expose pitfalls and pain points early. It helps technical and finance teams ask better questions and prepare for the road ahead.

Peer relationships also create a stronger feedback loop between customers, partners and Unit4, helping technology and support evolve around real needs.

Looking ahead: Turning insight into action

As the day drew to a close, one message connected the conversations around cloud technology, data, AI and change: successful transformation is a continuous journey.

The future of ERP is increasingly intelligent, connected and adaptable. But unlocking its potential requires more than new features and functionality.

It requires clear priorities, trusted data, engaged people and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Our ERPx Community Day provided an opportunity to explore these challenges together, share practical experiences and consider what comes next.

A huge thank you to our partners at Unit4, our guest speakers, The Alan Turing Institute and everyone who joined us and contributed to the day.

We look forward to continuing the conversations, strengthening our ERPx community and helping organisations turn technology investment into lasting business value.

Want to get more from your Unit4 investment or explore your next steps with ERPx?

Whether you're planning your ERPx journey, looking to optimise your existing Unit4 environment or considering how AI could support your organisation, the Embridge team is here to help.

Get in touch to continue the conversation.